Foundation model for robotics

A foundation model for robotics is a large multimodal AI model designed to generate robot behavior across multiple hardware platforms, typically trained on combinations of human video, simulation, and real-world robot data. The category is often abbreviated VLA (vision-language-action) or robot-FM. Examples include Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics, Physical Intelligence's pi-series models, and Skild AI's brain models.

These models are the brain layer described in brain vs. hardware company. A robot company that uses a third-party foundation model rather than building its own has chosen to specialize on hardware; one that builds its own foundation model is investing in vertical integration of the full stack.